On Friday , Valve confirmed the existence of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a new multiplatform, standalone version of Counter-Strike with new maps, weapons, matchmaking and leaderboards. Co-founder of the ESEA, Craig Levine is one of the many top members of the Counter-Strike community Valve flew out to see CS:GO in action. He's written about his experiences on the ESEA site . Read on for a summary of the main points.

Here are a few facts according to Levine's account:

Maps included: dust, dust2, inferno, nuke and de_train

Dust has been "overhauled to be competitively played"

Will include traditional de_ and cs_ map types. No new game modes.

New weapons include a heavy machine gun, rifle, new pistols and a new shotgun

Valve are experimenting with an $850 rush-blocking molotov cocktail and decoy grenades that emit sounds of gunfire when thrown

CS:GO is built using the latest version of the Source engine

Due out in 2012, beta this Autumn

Will have "casual and competitive" game modes, built-in leaderboards and dedicated server support

Levine reports that even though CS:GO is built with Source, player movement felt very different from Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike 1.6, but didn't "grossly offend" any of the top level CSS and 1.6 players testing. Levine adds that he was "surprised at how visually polished the game was. The maps look beautiful, the player skins and animations are smooth, and the gun models are cool."

Valve are also reshuffling the weapons line-up. Levine reports that they want players to experiment beyond the AWP, M4, AK, and Desert Eagle, and have taken "creative liberties" with the mid-range effectiveness of sub machine guns to make them a better alternative, and shotguns will have "unique close range use." Levine also stresses that the game was being tested in a pre-beta state, and that Valve were taking plenty of feedback from the testers.

A closed beta is planned for Autumn and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is due to come out sometime in 2012, Valve time.